path: root/bitbake/doc/user-manual/user-manual-bitbakecommand.xml

<!DOCTYPE chapter PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.2//EN"
"http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.2/docbookx.dtd">

<chapter id="user-manual-command">
    <title>The BitBake Command</title>

    <para>
        BitBake is the underlying piece of the build system.
        Two excellent examples are the Yocto Project and the OpenEmbedded
        build systems.
        Each provide an environment in which to develop embedded Linux
        images, and each use BitBake as their underlying build engine.
    </para>

    <para>
        BitBake facilitates executing tasks in a single <filename>.bb</filename>
        file, or executing a given task on a set of multiple
        <filename>.bb</filename> files, accounting for interdependencies
        amongst them.
        This chapter presents the BitBake syntax, provides some execution
        examples, and shows you how to control BitBake with key metadata.
    </para>

    <section id='usage-and-syntax'>
        <title>Usage and syntax</title>

        <para>
            Following is the usage and syntax for BitBake:
            <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $ bitbake -h
Usage: bitbake [options] [recipename/target ...]

    Executes the specified task (default is 'build') for a given set of target recipes (.bb files).
    It is assumed there is a conf/bblayers.conf available in cwd or in BBPATH which
    will provide the layer, BBFILES and other configuration information.

Options:
  --version             show program's version number and exit
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -b BUILDFILE, --buildfile=BUILDFILE
                        Execute tasks from a specific .bb recipe directly.
                        WARNING: Does not handle any dependencies from other
                        recipes.
  -k, --continue        Continue as much as possible after an error. While the
                        target that failed and anything depending on it cannot
                        be built, as much as possible will be built before
                        stopping.
  -a, --tryaltconfigs   Continue with builds by trying to use alternative
                        providers where possible.
  -f, --force           Force the specified targets/task to run (invalidating
                        any existing stamp file).
  -c CMD, --cmd=CMD     Specify the task to execute. The exact options
                        available depend on the metadata. Some examples might
                        be 'compile' or 'populate_sysroot' or 'listtasks' may
                        give a list of the tasks available.
  -C INVALIDATE_STAMP, --clear-stamp=INVALIDATE_STAMP
                        Invalidate the stamp for the specified task such as
                        'compile' and then run the default task for the
                        specified target(s).
  -r PREFILE, --read=PREFILE
                        Read the specified file before bitbake.conf.
  -R POSTFILE, --postread=POSTFILE
                        Read the specified file after bitbake.conf.
  -v, --verbose         Output more log message data to the terminal.
  -D, --debug           Increase the debug level. You can specify this more
                        than once.
  -n, --dry-run         Don't execute, just go through the motions.
  -S, --dump-signatures
                        Don't execute, just dump out the signature
                        construction information.
  -p, --parse-only      Quit after parsing the BB recipes.
  -s, --show-versions   Show current and preferred versions of all recipes.
  -e, --environment     Show the global or per-package environment complete
                        with information about where variables were
                        set/changed.
  -g, --graphviz        Save dependency tree information for the specified
                        targets in the dot syntax.
  -I EXTRA_ASSUME_PROVIDED, --ignore-deps=EXTRA_ASSUME_PROVIDED
                        Assume these dependencies don't exist and are already
                        provided (equivalent to ASSUME_PROVIDED). Useful to
                        make dependency graphs more appealing
  -l DEBUG_DOMAINS, --log-domains=DEBUG_DOMAINS
                        Show debug logging for the specified logging domains
  -P, --profile         Profile the command and save reports.
  -u UI, --ui=UI        The user interface to use (e.g. knotty, hob, depexp).
  -t SERVERTYPE, --servertype=SERVERTYPE
                        Choose which server to use, process or xmlrpc.
  --revisions-changed   Set the exit code depending on whether upstream
                        floating revisions have changed or not.
  --server-only         Run bitbake without a UI, only starting a server
                        (cooker) process.
  -B BIND, --bind=BIND  The name/address for the bitbake server to bind to.
  --no-setscene         Do not run any setscene tasks. sstate will be ignored
                        and everything needed, built.
  --remote-server=REMOTE_SERVER
                        Connect to the specified server.
  -m, --kill-server     Terminate the remote server.
  --observe-only        Connect to a server as an observing-only client.
  --status-only         Check the status of the remote bitbake server.

            </literallayout>
        </para>
    </section>

    <section id='bitbake-examples'>
        <title>Examples</title>

        <para>
            This section presents some examples showing how to use BitBake.
        </para>

        <section id='example-executing-a-task-against-a-single-recipe'>
            <title>Executing a Task Against a Single Recipe</title>

            <para>
                Executing tasks for a single recipe file is relatively simple.
                You specify the file in question, and BitBake parses
                it and executes the specified task.
                If you do not specify a task, BitBake executes the default
                task, which is "build”.
                BitBake obeys inter-task dependencies when doing
                so.
            </para>

            <para>
                The following command runs the clean task on the
                <filename>foo_1.0.bb</filename> recipe file:
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $ bitbake -b foo.bb -c clean
                </literallayout>
                The following command runs the build task, which is
                the default task, on the <filename>foo_1.0.bb</filename>
                recipe file:
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $ bitbake -b foo_1.0.bb
                </literallayout>
            </para>
        </section>

        <section id='executing-tasks-against-a-set-of-recipe-files'>
            <title>Executing Tasks Against a Set of Recipe Files</title>

            <para>
                There are a number of additional complexities introduced
                when one wants to manage multiple <filename>.bb</filename>
                files.
                Clearly there needs to be a way to tell BitBake what
                files are available, and of those, which you
                want to execute.
                There also needs to be a way for each recipe
                to express its dependencies, both for build-time and
                runtime.
                There must be a way for you to express recipe preferences
                when multiple recipes provide the same functionality, or when
                there are multiple versions of a  recipe.
            </para>

            <para>
                The <filename>bitbake</filename> command, when not using
                "--buildfile" or "-b" only accepts a "PROVIDER".
                You cannot provide anything else.
                By default, a recipe file generally "PROVIDES" its
                "packagename", "packagename-version", and
                "packagename-version-revision" as shown in the following
                example:
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $ bitbake foo

     $ bitbake foo-1.0

     $ bitbake foo-1.0-r0
                </literallayout>
                This next example "PROVIDES" the package name and also uses
                the "-c" option to tell BitBake to just excute the
                <filename>do_clean</filename> task:
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $ bitbake -c clean foo
                </literallayout>
            </para>
        </section>

        <section id='generating-dependency-graphs'>
            <title>Generating Dependency Graphs</title>

            <para>
                BitBake is able to generate dependency graphs using
                the dot syntax.
                You can convert these graphs into images using the dot
                application from
                <ulink url='http://www.graphviz.org'>Graphviz</ulink>.
            </para>

            <para>
                When you generate a dependency graph, BitBake writes two files
                to the current working directory:
                <filename>depends.dot</filename>, which contains dependency information
                at the package level, and <filename>task-depends.dot</filename>,
                which contains a breakdown of the dependencies at the task level.
            </para>

            <para>
                To stop depending on common depends, use use the "-I" depend
                option and BitBake omits them from the graph.
                Leaving this information out can produce more readable graphs.
                This way, you can remove from the graph
                <filename>DEPENDS</filename> from inherited classes
                such as <filename>base.bbclass</filename>.
            </para>

            <para>
                Here are two exmples that create dependency graphs.
                The second example omits common depends from the graph:
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     $ bitbake -g foo

     $ bitbake -g -I virtual/whatever -I bloom foo
                </literallayout>
            </para>
        </section>
    </section>

    <section id='controlling-bitbake'>
        <title>Controlling BitBake</title>

        <para>
            Including variables in your recipe and class files help control
            how BitBake operates.
        </para>

        <section id='execution-threads'>
            <title>Execution Threads</title>

            <para>
                You can control how many thread BitBake supports by using the
                <link linkend='var-BB_NUMBER_THREADS'><filename>BB_NUMBER_THREADS</filename></link>
                variable.
                You would set this in your <filename>local.conf</filename>
                configuration file.
            </para>
        </section>

        <section id='using-provides'>
            <title>Using <filename>PROVIDES</filename></title>

            <para>
                This example shows the usage of the
                <filename>PROVIDES</filename> variable, which allows a
                given <filename>.bb</filename> to specify what
                functionality it provides.
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     package1.bb:

     PROVIDES += "virtual/package"

     package2.bb:

     DEPENDS += "virtual/package"

     package3.bb:

     PROVIDES += "virtual/package"
                </literallayout>
                As you can see, we have two different
                recipes that provide the same functionality
                (virtual/package).
                Clearly, there needs to be a way for the person running
                BitBake to control which of those providers
                gets used.
                There is, indeed, such a way.
            </para>

            <para>
                The following would go into a <filename>.conf</filename>
                file, to select package1:
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     PREFERRED_PROVIDER_virtual/package = "package1"
                </literallayout>
            </para>
        </section>

        <section id='specifying-version-preference'>
            <title>Specifying Version Preference</title>

            <para>
                When there are multiple “versions” of a given package,
                BitBake defaults to selecting the most recent
                version, unless otherwise specified.
                If the <filename>.bb</filename> in question has a
                <filename>DEFAULT_PREFERENCE</filename> set lower than
                the other recipes (default is 0), then it will not be
                selected.
                This allows the person or persons maintaining
                the repository of <filename>.bb</filename> files to specify
                their preference for the default selected version.
                In addition, the user can specify their preferred version.
            </para>

            <para>
                If the first <filename>.bb</filename> is named
                <filename>a_1.1.bb</filename>, then the
                <filename>PN</filename> variable will be set to
                “a”, and the <filename>PV</filename> variable will be
                set to 1.1.
            </para>

            <para>
                If we then have an <filename>a_1.2.bb</filename>, BitBake
                will choose 1.2 by default.
                However, if we define the following variable in a
                <filename>.conf</filename> file that BitBake parses, we
                can change that.
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
     PREFERRED_VERSION_a = "1.1"
                </literallayout>
            </para>
        </section>

        <section id='using-recipe-file-collections'>
            <title>Using Recipe File Collections</title>

            <para>
                Recipe file collections exist to allow the user to
                have multiple repositories of
                <filename>.bb</filename> files that contain the same
                exact package.
                For example, one could easily use them to make one's
                own local copy of an upstream repository, but with
                custom modifications that one does not want upstream.
                Here is an example:
                <literallayout class='monospaced'>
    BBFILES = "/stuff/openembedded/*/*.bb /stuff/openembedded.modified/*/*.bb"
    BBFILE_COLLECTIONS = "upstream local"
    BBFILE_PATTERN_upstream = "^/stuff/openembedded/"
    BBFILE_PATTERN_local = "^/stuff/openembedded.modified/"
    BBFILE_PRIORITY_upstream = "5"
    BBFILE_PRIORITY_local = "10"
                </literallayout>
            </para>
        </section>
    </section>
</chapter>